Corruption
by Celtic karate
Summary: My take of the episodes: 'Enemies Foreign' and 'Enemies Domestic.' This had Jenny still alive. will have Jibbs, because I like to write jibbs.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So I was in Disneyland one weekend and me and my mom were in the hotel room browsing; we had just arrived there and were getting ready for bed as we were browsing through the TV and NCIS was on; it was the double episode marathon. This particular duo featured the reason behind the Paris op and gave some of Vance's history. It also had the reunion of Ziva and Eli after the whole debacle that was the season 7 closer. I loved this episode, surprisingly enough, and I just wished that Jenny was alive for it. So I decided to write it into the period during which she was alive and create a character that had ties to Jethro and Ziva. I didn't want to put this into my other fic because I didn't want to have to figure out a new character as well as the story; so a new fic it is. Sorry for the really long A/N but I needed to explain why I wrote this instead of working on the other fic. Enjoy!

Corruption 1

It was 0645 hours and Ziva was slowly getting used to starting work at 0700 instead of 0600, but she still showed up early. She was expecting a catch-up day. The MCRT had a whole slew of cases, back to back with no time to complete any but the most basic paperwork on each case. Today should be a day to work on those more detailed pieces of paperwork, but she was greeted with an unexpected sight upon entrance to the bullpen.

There was a young woman she recognized pacing the length of the floor in the MCRT Section; she paced from Tony's desk all the way to the edge of Tim's desk and back. She was mumbling to herself in multiple languages, she appeared to not notice Ziva standing there, but Ziva knew this young woman. Her name was Jessica Lion; she was one of the last people Ziva trained before coming stateside; in fact she was trained by both Ziva and Ari right before Ari's "undercover" op and Ziva was assigned to train and work with Jenny, the current Director of NCIS.

Jessica was still a nice healthy weight. She was rather short, but strong. Her hair was almost black, long and braided straight down her back. There was a hint of metal in the braid from the spike strips woven into her hair. Her eyes were olive green and set into a pale face. At the moment there was a slight flush to her cheeks from her pacing and whatever thoughts were going through her head. She was wearing a tight black longed-sleeved shirt that was tucked into pale green cargo pants. The pants were secured with a dark brown belt that had a belt knife attached to the buckle. The cargo pants were tucked into calf-length black leather boots.

Ziva could see the outlines of various weapons besides the spike strip in her hair. She had thin a knife at her wrist on her left hand, she also had a Marine issued knife in a sheath at her waist on her left side, there were a two knifes in her left boot and one in her right boot. She had a small caliber hand gun in her right boot as well as a sig Saur in a holster straight out of Star Wars. The holster was made of black leather and attached to her belt and wrapped around Jess's mid-thigh. The gun rested within easy reach and the holster's solid leather that wrapped around the thigh held four knifes.

Ziva knew that the 12 weapons was not what really made this girl dangerous; she was an expert in more than 10 styles of martial arts including Kung Fu, Shotokan, Shitoru, Ju-Jitsu and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu as well as the styles taught to Mossad officers and Marines. The young woman, really, could kill you just as easily as Ziva, herself, could. She could regularly match Ziva during sparring matches, and occasionally best her, and she routinely beat Ari and the other men in the unit.

Ziva just stands at the divider between sections and just watches her protégée. After a few more minutes Jess slows down her pacing and without looking at Ziva, she speaks.

"I know you're there Ziva." She said and her voice is a quiet alto, with no trace of an accent; though that too is deceiving; she was trained to go anywhere in the world and blend in as a local.

"I figured you did, but I still remember to let you speak first when you get into tits like this." Ziva told her moving around to sit at her desk. Jess continued to stand.

"I think you mean 'tizzy's' Ziva: when I get into tizzy's like this." Jess corrected with a smile.

"Ahh, yes I did. I am still unaccustomed to American Idioms." Ziva said with a smirk as she booted up her computer. She watched as Jess relaxed and leaned against Tony's desk so she could still see Ziva.

"So in order of appearance who gets here first?"

"Usually me, I am not used to starting an hour later than Mossaud. After me is usually Cynthia, Director Shepard's assistant, then Director Shepard followed by Ducky and Abby, but they stay downstairs in Autopsy and Forensics. McGee is next followed by Gibbs then Tony." Ziva answers and looks up to see Jess's olive eyes narrowed and a frown on her face.

"Okay, good, that means I can talk to the new director first and get that out of the way. Then I can talk to Gibbs and the Director afterwards." She muttered to herself and she let herself relax. Ziva didn't know what Jess was doing here, but she knew that if it had to do with her bosses that it was probably best that she stay out of it for the time being. If she needed to know, then she would be told.

"How long are you here for, Jess?" Ziva asked instead.

"I am here for the foreseeable future. I just finished my last op and Hetty gave me a month leave to spend here in the states before I pick my next assignment. However, I made a pit stop to visit my boyfriend in Russia before coming over here a few weeks ago and discovered something very interesting that might require me to not get my assignment for a few more weeks. And that mission might not be one of the ones Hetty had for me." Jess answer was vague where it needed to be and concise everywhere else. Ziva nodded, just as the elevator upstairs dinged and both Cynthia and Director Shepard got off and walked across the catwalk. They entered an office on the opposite side and vanished from sight.

"My guess is that was both the Director and her assistant." Jess commented.

"That was. Do you want me to walk with you up there?" Ziva asked knowing that the Director didn't know Jess.

"That would be helpful." Was her reply.

So both women made their way up the stairs and into the outer office. Cynthia had her back to them, so didn't see them walk into the inner office of the Director of NCIS.

"Director Shepard." Ziva said. The red haired woman turned around and looked at them.

"Ziva, what can I do for you? Not tiring of NCIS, I hope?"

"No Director. I am content where I am. This is the person I trained before you joined us; she also works for NCIS; she has asked to speak with you. Her name is Jessica Lion." Ziva introduced them. Jess and Jenny shook hands and Ziva slipped out of the room.

"What can I do for you Agent Lion?" Director Shepard asked, sitting down behind her desk. Jess sat down opposite her.

"Right now, not much. I've just returned stateside from an undercover op that has lasted since I left Mossaud. I heard that we had a new Director. But on my back stateside, my boyfriend in Russia, Moscow, called and said that they had a situation; his 13 year-old twin sisters were being threatened by an arms dealer/assassin. I detoured there and helped sort it out. The assassin's name was: Anastasia Vertov. That is her current name. I found two other names for her; one of which showed that she should in all rights be dead. That was from a NCIS undercover op. There were three agents on said mission: William Decker, L. Jethro Gibbs, and yourself. Can you guess who my assassin is?" Jess was polite, yet firm in telling this.

"Svetlana, my hit." Jenny sighed, knowing that was going to come back to bite her in the ass. "At that time, I didn't have the emotional capacity to kill someone in cold blood." Jenny looked away, not able to meet Jess' eyes as the guilt build insider her.

"I came to ask if you wanted me to handle it. I know where she is right now and I can take care of it and return in less than two days?" Jess asked, softly, knowing what the woman was going through.

Jenny nodded.

"Good. Now that that is taken care of. I have another reason for my visit. I have discovered something strange in researching all of this. Your op is related to another one seven years prior. This mission had multiple components and failed. This is why you had your op. I found some very strange pieces of this puzzle and I wanted to meet with you, Gibbs, Decker, Vance, Whitney Sharp and Eli David." Jess continued.

"Why?" Director Shepard was confused.

"Well, I figured that you might believe it if it came from the people involved instead of me." Jenny nodded her head at that answer.

"Well, it will be pretty easy for myself and Agent Gibbs to attend. I can get Vance her by ordering him here. As for the rest, I might be able to pull a few strings and get them here. Eli will come to see Ziva if nothing else. But it will take more than two days to get everyone here."

"So I take care of the target and return and take a mini-vacation while you get everyone here." Jess shrugged.

"Deal. I will expect you to report back to me in person in three days, Agent Lion." The director ordered. Jess nodded and left the office.

*********************************NCIS****************************************

Jenny felt horrible for the rest of the day. She had Cynthia cancel all of her appointments and ops in MTAC and had her take messages for any calls for her. Jenny poured herself a glass of bourbon and sat at her couch instead of her desk.

That op and the ones preceding it were one of the best times in her life. They had a few missions before Paris to track down Svetlana and her lover; two Russian arms dealers. She and Gibbs spent a week in a stuffy attic in Marsielle, tracking people onboard a Lebanese trawler. On the second night she and Gibbs became lovers. They had ops all throughout Europe and Eventually Ducky joined them on their ops. The first Paris op was supposed to be the only op in Paris. They were supposed to get close to their targets of the Russian and a few other arms dealers and bring them all down.

But Gibbs and Ducky had a run in with French police officers resulting in a confrontation on a cliff that led to Ducky pushing a Frenchman off the cliff. Ducky and Gibbs had escaped and run to the cliff; where Decker was supposed to be waiting. Decker couldn't make the meet and Jenny ended up stealing a boat to rescue them after they jumped. They brought the officer to shore and took off across the ocean, finding sanctuary in Great Britain. Jenny managed to get all charges dropped and they returned to Europe. Ducky stayed in England while Jenny and Jethro stayed in a cabin in Serbia for a week. They spent most of their time that week making love.

They returned to Paris and continued with their mission. Then they received their orders to take out Svetlana and her lover instead of arresting them. Jenny's hit was Svetlana and Jethro got her lover. Jethro, being the Marine sniper, had no problem taking out his target. Jenny however could not see herself taking out her target in cold blood. If Svetlana directly threatened herself or Gibbs; she would have taken the shot without hesitation. But she saw this hit as killing someone in cold blood. She couldn't do it; she left Svetlana alive and told Decker and Gibbs that she had made the hit.

A week later and most of the other dealers were arrested. The three of them were each debriefed and given new orders. Jenny told everyone that she had made the hit, and the guilt of lying to her boss's and her lover ate at her and she fled. Taking a new set of orders and leaving Jethro with just a letter left inside of a coat that he got for her.

Her failure during that op cost her, her lover and gained her, her current job.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: More stuff that I wanted to add to the last chapter but felt the AN was too long: This is my take of the Events of Europe four years prior to the show's debut. The Episode suggested that this op came first and led to other ops throughout Europe, but I thought that maybe they would have a few others before to establish their cover, and I wanted to add the bit about the boat and fleeing to England. I am guessing that this will turn out to be a 5 chapter story with maybe and epilogue, but I'm not sure. Now without further ado; Chapter 2!

Corruption 2

Jenny pulled all the strings she could pull, and eventually after a week she was able to get Eli, Decker and Whitney Sharp to come to DC. The third day Jess stopped in after a round of sparring with Ziva to say that it was done. She had shot Svetlana and her bodyguards as they planned her kidnapping to lure out her lover's killer. They were planning on killing Decker to lure her out to his funeral and either kill her or kidnap her. Jess brought Polaroid photos if the three bodies as proof. She took the photos before tossing the body into the ocean, weighed down with metal chains. Jess left the photos with Jenny along with a piece of paper for a hotel room where she would be staying until after the meeting. Jenny burned the photos in her private bathroom's sink.

She felt relieved that her mission was finally over, even as she felt guilty for not taking the target out herself. She avoided Jethro as much as possible, only dealing with him as he turned in his team's case reports as they finished them, he didn't push her, though she could see what looked like concern in his eyes when they did see each other. She knew that he would know eventually and was trying to prepare herself for his anger and hatred of her.

A week after she managed to get everyone over here they all were sitting down at the conference table in Jenny's office.

Jenny started by thanking everyone for being there and that she knew that having all of them there was important to whatever they were to talk about. At that point she admitted to not taking out Svetlana. Decker already knew, while Gibbs' eyes widened. Whitney was disappointed and let everyone know it. Eli nodded knowing why she couldn't do it at the time; though he was surprised that she didn't' go back and finish the job before taking up the Director's position. At this point Jess jumped in a told the story that she told Jenny two weeks previously and then she told about how she took out the target and what she did with the body.

"But the reason I wanted all of you here today, is to clear the air and address the issue of a potential threat to the agency. One of the founding Agents of this agency has been doing some really freaky stuff since 1993 and a mission in Amsterdam." Jess told the audience. Whitney, Eli and Vance all leaned forward at this. "Yes, I know all about that mission." Jess told them. She then turned to Whitney.

"Former Agent Sharp, why did you pick Leon Vance for that mission? He didn't fit your typical pick." Jess asked and the woman looked down before answering.

"I picked him because I could bully him into accepting."

"But why did you need him, why not someone else?" Jess pressed.

"Because there was the extreme risk that whoever we picked would die and Vance at that point would not be missed." She said softly looking at the table. Jess, Jen and Gibbs both watched as Eli and Vance nodded; she had confirmed something that they knew."

"What was the mission?" Jess pressed.

"To take out a Russian arms dealer with the code name: The Russian." She answered, not looking at anyone.

"Assistant Director Vance, tell me about the mission." She asked him in a polite command.

"My job was to lure The Russian at first. Then I had orders to kill him." Vance answered.

"Where did Eli fit into this?"

"I met him on the second day of the mission. We bonded and he gave me hints and pointers about what to do. A few days later I overheard him and The Russian discussing me. Later he came to my little flat where I was staying. I confronted him and he told me that The Russian already knew about me." Jess looked to Eli who picked up the tale.

"A 'leak' inside NCIS had already told The Russian about Vance. He gave me the order to return to Israel. Instead I went to Vance and told him that by morning he would be dead if he didn't help me. We made a Claymore mine and rigged it before taking cover. The trio of assassins triggered the blast and because of our cover we survived. After Vance and I returned to our homes the Russian vanished." Eli told them.

In the Bullpen:

Tony, Ziva, Abby and two of Eli security team were watching the feed from the security camera that Tim hacked from Tim's desk.

"He knows how to make a claymore mine! Who else knows how to make one?" Abby asked astonished.

"In this room?" Malachy, head of the Kidon unit, Ziva's old unit, asked. Malachy and Liat, who took Ziva's place of the team, raised their hands, as did Ziva and eventually Abby.

Back in Jenny's office:

"Now after I got to this part in my research; I did a check on Vance and saw a weird entry to his personal file. I logged who this entry and then moved on to search for The Russian. I discovered his name and the Paris op. But I won't say more on that. But who here knows the name of The Russian?" Jess asked.

Eli raised his hand, and Whitney kind of did. Jess turned to her, not really surprised.

"I read it in Agent Riley McCallister's field notes, but I don't remember it all. I know it was Z something: Zuko or something. . ." She trailed off. Jethro looked at her with wide eyes, as did Decker and Jenny.

"Was it Zukov, Anatoly Zukov?" He asked in a tight voice.

Jess doesn't let Whitney answer, but looks at Eli.

"That was his name Anatoly Zukov." Eli said, starting to piece together what Jess was telling them.

"This brings me to my point. Who was in charge of the Amsterdam op?" Jess asked.

"McCallister." Came the answer from Vance, Sharp and Eli.

"Next question: Who set up the Paris mission?"

"McCallister." Everyone at the table answered.

"Okay back to the research I did. McCallister alter Vance's file, causing him to be sent on another mission. He made it look like Vance was a pilot. That sent Vance on a mission that should have killed him. Leon Vance was never supposed to live to see the new millennium, let alone become Assistant Director of NCIS. Neither were you, Director Shepard. That was why he sent a green agent, even one who was being groomed to become Director after Morrow; he wanted to get you out of the way, in a permanent kind of way. McCallister wanted the job for himself." Jess finished and everyone could see her disgust for the man who abused the system for his own selfish goals that risked so many people's lives.

The table was silent as they all processed what they had learned. Jenny found herself feeling a little less guilty; she wasn't supposed to have made the hit, she was supposed to have died. So she felt a bit of satisfaction at how she ended up, but then she remembered that her failure cost her, a future with the man she loved and then she felt anger at McCallister.

Decker stood up and everyone looked at him.

"I have to say that I am not surprised by McCallister. After Paris I returned and worked under him for a few more years before I was promoted; I kept getting a weird gut feeling around him and I started to watch my back and check my file. He tried to mess with it, but I deleted it before it could be printed. A week later I was promoted to my own team. But I am no longer NCIS; I retired last year. So I can testify against him, but that is it." He told them and left. Whitney was next.

"If you need help arresting him or something, let me know, I still have a few favors I can call in. But I am also retired so I'll leave you current members to figure it out." With that she left and Eli too, left the room after shaking everyone's hand.

Once the door shut behind Eli, Gibbs turned to Jess.

"I see life has treated you well kid. You're not the same trigger happy young agent you were in Moscow." He told her and Jess smiled.

"Oh, I'm still trigger happy; I've just learned to control it since we worked together in Moscow." Jess smirked at him.

"I can see that. Those kids' are okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine. James took a sabbatical leave and took them to the states. They're in Disneyland and California Adventure this week." Jess told them.

"And I bet you wish you were with them." Jethro smirked.

"You'd be right; I do. But they have a list of characters I want autographs from and pins I'm looking for. I gave them my pin trades to get them and money to buy some of them. Then I plan on joining them when they head to San Diego before we skip to Florida and Universal Studios and Disney World."

Jenny was watched the conversation between them with fascination while Vance called his wife.

"You two know each other?" She asked during a lull in their conversation.

"We were partners in Moscow the year after Paris." Jethro answered. "So I'm worried now about our targets for that mission, did it all go according to plan?" He asked, turning back to Jess.

"Yes, I double checked that after I found all of this. I knew I did and I knew you did, as our hits were together when we hit them. And the other three were found on security video cameras, though they were deleted, we kept a copy for the file. Moscow op is clear." Jess told them and sighed. Gibbs did too and he ran his hands through his hair and Jenny and Jess rubbed their temples. Vance finished on the phone and came back to the table.

"What the four of us need to do is go through every mission McCallister was a part of, or was in charge of. If it's clean we put in one pile, a failure in another for a closer look, and anything hinky or off goes into a third pile. After wards, we'll go through that second pile and put it into any of the other two piles." Jess suggested, knowing that if there were two files, there could be more. The others nodded and Jenny moved to pull the file locations of each one.

"If you can't access some of them, let me know and I can get them." Jess told her boss. Jenny looked confused. "You don't have black ops clearance; I do." Jess clarified. Jenny nodded and looked up the files. Ten minutes later she printed out a list of each mission and it unredacted copy's location. She sent Gibbs and Vance to retrieve them and had Jess get the four that she didn't have access to. Jess found those locations and retrieved them. When all three of them meet back up in Jenny's office they put the stack in the middle of the table and Jess flicked through the four black ones and found that they all were clean. She put them in a pile and grabbed another stack off the main pile and dove into work. They were meticulous going through the files. Spending 45 minutes to an hour on each file. They stopped when Cynthia asked if she could pick up lunch for them. Jenny asked for a chicken salad, Vance asked for a cheeseburger with all the works and Gibbs asked for a burger with green chilies.

"Is there a Thai food place around here?" Jess asked and Cynthia told her that that was where she was going. Jess asked for Red and Yellow Curry. Cynthia repeated each order and when confirmed said that she would be back in an hour. The group went back to work, stopping only when Cynthia came back with their food. They ate their food before Vance stepped out to call his wife and Gibbs checked on his team.

The rest of the day was spent going through the files. It was six in the evening when they finished the first files. Gibbs had already dismissed his team and went home himself. Vance and his detail headed to the Hotel they were staying at and Jenny and Jess put the clean files away before storing the other two piles. The clean pile was the smallest with the iffy pile and hinky pile being tied. Jenny and her detail headed to her townhouse and Jess headed to Ziva's where she was staying in the guest bedroom instead of a hotel.

All four of them were too restless to sleep and when they did finally sleep; it was restless.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This happens during season four so everyone knows about Shannon and Kelly.

Corruption 3

The four of them meet up at 0730 the next morning. Jenny brought out the two piles and they dove right back in to work. They took files out of the iffy pile and went through them. Most of them went into the clean pile. They finished going through each one by lunchtime. They all left the building and headed out to a lunch steakhouse. Jess sat in between Jenny and Vance with Gibbs on the opposite side of her. They ate their lunch and talked about everything but work. Vance updated them all on his family and Jess shared stories about the adventures she had with her boyfriend and his family. Jenny and Gibbs remained silent mainly, only asking questions of the other two.

When they finished and settled the bill, they headed back to the Navy Yard and they each took a portion of the left over files and a legal pad. They went through and wrote down every hinky thing on in the files down. When they finished that they condensed the lists before taking each thing off the list and marking down if it was just something they would put in a personnel file or if it was civil or criminal. They did that and left for the night, after Jenny called and made an appointment to speak with the SecNav the next day. Jenny and Jess were the last there as they refilled the clean case reports and put the dirty reports in Jenny's desk.

"I know you said that you worked with Gibbs in Moscow, but how well do you know him?" Jenny asked as they filed the reports.

"Well enough." Was the answer given. Jessica knew there was something between Jenny and Gibbs, but she didn't want to give anything away that Jenny didn't already know.

"Did he ever mention me that year?" She asked, and when Jess met her eyes, there was sorrow and regret in them. Those emotions compelled her to answer.

"When he was awake he never mentioned your name, only revered to you as his partner, but that point was when he started to hammer in rule 12 to all of us on his team. He said me and James were the exception, as we were together before the rule was made. But sometimes at night, I'd hear him whimper or scream your name: _Jen_ or _Jenny._ It got so bad that Stephanie started staying in the third bedroom. But their marriage was already on the rocks when they both came to Moscow." Jess shrugged, leaving out the part where he said her name more than Shannon's or Kelly's names. She knew that Gibbs didn't tell many people about them and she didn't know if her boss knew about them.

"Did he mention me more than Shannon and Kelly?" She asked, knowing that is was their names he cried out during the nights while she shared a bed with him.

"Oh, so you know about them?" Jess asked, surprised.

"Yes, all of us do." Jenny said as they headed back up to her office to get their things to leave for the night. Jess still didn't answer the question, debating with herself if she should answer the question. She made her choice as they were apart to part for the night.

"Director Shepard, the answer to your question is: yes, he did." She told her boss before she climbed into her car and headed to Ziva's house.

************************************NCIS*************************************

Jenny stood, shocked as Jess drove away. Jethro did love her; he never said the words and at the time she thought it was because they had the mission and their cover over their head, and he didn't want her to think that the words were only for the mission, so he let his actions speak for him. After she left, she tried to tell herself that he never really loved her and that was why he never said the words. After a few years, she believed it; believed it enough to turn him down when she returned as director last year. After all, he said the he missed her, not that he loved her. But maybe that was his way of protecting himself from getting hurt again.

She knew why she left, but he didn't. All he wanted was a second chance, and she was going to give him it. She stormed over to her car and peeled out of the garage and made her way to his house; she ditched her detail by taking a short cut. She made it there and parked across the street. Her determination carried her out of her car and across the street and up to his front door.

She made it inside the house before fear got ahold of her. What if he had moved on after that last rejection? What if he didn't want her anymore? She smelt coffee and sawdust and followed it to the kitchen and to the door to the basement. He was down there sanding the boat's hull with a mason jar of bourbon near his elbow. He didn't look up at her, but she knew that he knew she was there.

She walked over to him and touched his shoulder, causing him to stop sanding and turn to look at her.

"You need something Director?" He asked, though the look on her face, was one he could read. It was Jenny who was with him now, not Director Shepard.

"Jenny, Jethro, the Director is in her office preparing for tomorrow. Jenny is here now, confused. I don't know what to think, Jethro." She confessed, moving over to the couch in the corner and sitting down.

"Don't know what to think about what?" He asked, knowing semi what she was talking about, but wanting to hear her say it out loud. He poured her a small jar of bourbon and handed it to her as he moved to another section of the hull, this one was closer to her. He started sanding again, but made sure that he could see her out of the corner of his eye.

"This whole thing with McCallister. I wasn't supposed to make the hit on Svetlana, I wasn't supposed to see the mission through. I was supposed to die out there, Jethro. I'm just having a hard time dealing with it." She was feeling the need to beg him and tell him everything; he already knew why she joined NCIS; to get The Frog. That was her best kept secret. It should be easy to tell him why she left him in Paris; that she knew that she could get her five-point plan and have love in her life.

She knew she would have stayed if it wasn't for her perceived failure.

"What do you mean Jen?"

"Jethro, I didn't leave because of the promotion. That came after I decided to leave; I hated myself for failing. You and everyone else praised my abilities, and I didn't want to be a failure in your eyes; it would hurt too much. I ran, I ran away. And now I find that I wasn't supposed to be able to do it and I feel angry.

"I threw away a future with you. I convinced myself that you didn't say you loved me back then because you didn't love me. I knew in my heart the entire time that your actions said it. That the words didn't come from your mouth for a reason. Jethro I told that to myself so often and so much that I believed them enough to turn you down last year." She told him, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. She did nothing to hide them; instead she locked eyes with him and let them overflow.

Jethro was cursing McCallister to the seven Hells; that man cost him six, now seven, years with the one woman he truly loved since Shannon. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before leaving the hull of the boat and kneeling in front of her. He locked eyes with her and watched as the tears overflow. He watched as the moisture changes her eyes to a soft, pale green. That was a new shade for him; the last time she cried her eyes turned to a minty color. But the last time she cried was when she was shot.

He never liked it when she cried. When she was shot he cradled her upper body to him and let her cry into his chest. That seemed like a good idea now, so he leaned in and kissed her cheek before standing.

Jenny watched his eyes and couldn't read them like she used to be able to do. She closed her eyes as he kissed her cheek, loving the feeling of his lips. She felt him get up from the floor and thought the worst and she started sobbing. She was losing him, when she just found him again. She then felt the couch dip and Jethro pulled her into his arms and his lap.

Jethro just held her and let her cry against his neck. He just kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back. Twenty minutes later and her sobs had diminished. Jethro's legs were cramping so he cradled her closer and swung himself up onto the couch lying down with her on top of him. Another 20 minutes passed and her breathing had evened out and the tears had stopped. Jethro looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep. He didn't move for another 20 minutes, when he did, he rolled her over onto the couch and covered her with his sports jacked that he had tossed onto the bench when he got to the basement. He kissed her forehead and whispered that he would be right back.

He headed up the stairs and to his bedroom. The sheets were fresh so he didn't change them. He turned down the bed and changed into a pair of sleep pants, removing his shirt. He grabbed a clean pair of boxers and his old USMC shirt and left them on the bed. He padded barefoot back downstairs and back into his basement. HE grabbed his cell phone and called her detail, to let them know that he would bring her in the next day and asked if they could pick up her car in the morning. He then did something that he hadn't done since Shannon and Kelly were still alive: he locked the door. He went back down to the basement, where Jenny was still asleep. He lifted her light weight frame into his arms and carried her to his bed; she didn't awaken. He laid her down and changed her into the clothes he left out and tucked her into bed. He left the room and shut off all the lights and turned on the coffee maker's timer to start at 0600 the next morning.

He headed back upstairs and climbed into bed next to her. He stayed on his side of the bed and tried to fall asleep. He couldn't, not really; so he turned over and spooned up behind Jenny. He pulled her tightly to his side and buried his nose in her hair and found himself falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Corruption 4

Jenny woke up feeling warm and comfortable. She blinked her eyes open and didn't immediately recognize the room she was in. She tensed up and felt an arm around her waist. Memory flashed through her eyes: her conversation with Jess, the answer Jess shouted as she left, going over to Jethro's house, telling him the truth and breaking down in tears. The memories relaxed her and she took a deep breath; smelling coffee, bourbon, sawdust and a scent she associated with only Jethro. She relaxed completely and noticed that she wasn't in her clothes from yesterday; instead she was in a USMC tee shirt and a pair of Jethro's boxers. She rolled over still in his arms and noticed that he was still asleep.

She took the time to study his face, she noticed that he seemed more relaxed then she'd seen him in a while. She didn't know if it was because he finally knew the truth or because she was in his arms, but she like seeing him this relaxed. She raised her hand and placed it on his cheek, feeling his stubble on his chin. She moved her thumb back and forth across his cheek.

"I never should have left you." She whispered; she felt his arms tighten and he woke up. He locked eyes with her and smiled a true smile, not one of his signature smirks. She returned the smile and leaned in and kissed his cheek on the opposite side of the hand that was still on his face.

HE moved his head and caught her lips in his. Their kiss was sweet and the totally opposite of their first kiss in Marseille, which was rough. She liked this one so much better, because it showed the less seen softer side of both herself and Jethro. When air was needed they let go of the other's lips and Jenny buried her face in his chest, breathing in his scent. Her nose played with his chest hair and Jethro ran his hands through her hair. He looked over at the clock and saw that it was almost 0600.

"We got to get up Jen, we need to meet with SecNav today." He told her, she nodded and sat up on the bed and stretched, her back arching like a cat's.

"We'll have to stop at my house; I don't have a spare set of work clothes." She told him.

"Do you want to shower here or at your townhouse?" He asked, sitting up as well.

"Umm, my house." She answered after thinking for a few minutes. He nodded before getting out of the bed.

"Okay, I'm going to shower now, coffee machine should start here in a few minutes, we'll leave once I'm dressed for the day. Your clothes from yesterday are on the dresser." He told her pointing to where he had her suit laid out neatly to avoid wrinkles. She smiled at his thoughtfulness and stood up as well, kissing him softly as he went by. When she heard the shower start she left the room and went into the kitchen, she saw that the machine was almost done. Her phone was going off, and it was still in the basement; so she headed into the room and picked it up.

It was a message from her detail telling her that her car was back in the NCIS garage. Jethro must have called them after she fell asleep. She checked for other messages as she headed back to the kitchen. She poured herself a mug of coffee, remembering where the mugs were and headed back up to the bedroom with her mug as she was going through the messages. She got dressed and sat down on the bed drinking her coffee. When she looked up, Jethro was in the room and already dressed in jeans. Ah the joy of casual Friday. She thought to herself with a smile. She stood up and walked behind him as he was pulling a polo shirt out of his closet. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his shoulder blade.

"Coffee's ready and downstairs." She told him as she let him go so he could pull the polo shirt over his head.

"Thank you." He said tucking the shirt into his pants and pulling a belt through the loops. He pulled on a pair of boots and packed his gym clothes into a small duffle bag. They headed back to the kitchen hand in hand and Jenny rinsed her cup out as Jethro drank his first cup. Jenny put on her shoes and they headed out the door and to Jethro's truck. He drove them to her house and sat on her bed as she showered. He talked to her as she put on her make up.

"If you want to, you can pack your gym clothes and work out with me and Ziva and Jess today. I was thinking of having the team to some PT and sparring today." He spoke through the door. She didn't answer straight away as she had turned on the blow-dryer and knew that he wouldn't be able to hear. A few minutes later she came out of the bathroom with her hair and make-up done, and dressed in her robe.

"That sounds like a good idea; I haven't been exercising that much lately." She told him as she walked past the bed and to her closet and dresser. She pulled on a pair of simple black panties and a pair of dark wash jeans underneath the robe before taking it off and pulling on a matching bra. She was stopped by his arms around her waist and his lips on her neck, before she could pull on a simple button up shirt. She turned in his arms and kissed him softly before pulling away and pushing him away from her. She pulled the shirt on and quickly did up the buttons. She pulled a pair of calf-high boots from the floor of her closet and a pair of socks from her dresser. She pulled the socks and boots on, tucking her skinny leg jeans into the boots before zipping them up. She stood up and Jethro loved how she looked professional and casual at the same time. He walked up to her one of his hands running through her hair, careful not to mess it up.

"I miss your long hair." He said and she smiled.

"I do too. I think I'm going to grow it out. I might not grow it out as long as it was, but I'll at least get it to my shoulders." She told him and he nodded. They left her house and climbed back onto his truck and headed to NCIS.

"How are we going to do this, Jen?" He asked at a stop light.

"We tell SecNav today after we get through the McCallister crap. I can order both Vance and Jess from the room. After he knows then we can tell the team and the rest of NCIS whenever we please." Jenny answered promptly, this was what she was thinking about in the shower.

"Well, I don't know about Vance, but Jess will know something's up the minute we walk into your office." Jethro said with a smirk.

"Really, how do you know that?" Jen wondered. She was thinking that Jess set this up, and for once she didn't care that she was manipulated.

"Because when she was partnered up with me, I asked Hetty not to give her my file. I wanted to test her, well I wanted to drive her away; I didn't want another partner. So when I met up with her in Moscow, at a café, I tested her powers of observations. She deduced from the way I walked and held myself that I was military and she assumed that because I worked for NCIS it was either Navy or Marine Corps. She then told me that I was married, I wasn't wearing the ring; she said it was because of the way I didn't give the other women around a second look. She also told me that my wife was a red head and that she was across the street. She then pointed out my side arm that was hidden in my jacket and she guessed, correctly, that I had a spare on my left ankle.

"I was impressed. A week later I had her describe the café where we meet. She did to perfect detail. She also proved that she had a good grasp on other people emotions as she worked a crowd one day about half way through the mission. She kind of reminded me of you. Though now that I think of it she also has a lot of Ziva in her." Jethro told her as they pulled into the parking garage.

"As to after we tell SecNav; how about we show them instead of tell them?" He asked with a sly grin on his face as an idea came to him.

"What is going on in you pretty head?" Jen asked seeing the grin.

"We redo the scene on the catwalk stairs from last year. This time we have a different result." He told her; thinking that he would add three words to the 'I missed you' that he told her last year. She smiled a soft smile and shook her head. The elevator was empty, so she curled herself into his side and kissed his cheek.

"Prefect idea Jethro." She told him as the elevator stopped at the bull pen.

They both left and headed for Jethro's section. Jenny took the stairs up to her office, listening to Jethro bark orders to his team.

"I have a meeting with SecNav today; you have until 1400 hours to complete your paperwork and get lunch. At 1400 hours you will meet in the gym downstairs for some PT. If you don't show up, don't bother coming in on Monday. We have the weekend off, another team has call duty." He told them, watching Jen out of the corner of his eye. He checked to make sure that he had all of his work completed before he saw both Jess and Vance on the top elevator heading to Jen's office. He handed his paperwork to Tony to file when he had everyone else's. He then made his way up the stairs to her office. He didn't stop or wait for Cynthia, like normal; though he did enter the office softly and he silently walked over to the conference table and sat down next to Jess.

"1400 hours my team's doing PT, you want to join?" He asked her, and watched as her face became a smirk as she nodded.

"I'm in." was all she said. She had an idea of what he was thinking, and she found it really appealing.

Jethro was right; Jess noticed right away that something was up. Gibbs didn't slam the door like he'd been doing for the past few days and both him and Jenny seemed more relaxed then the past few days. She smirked and didn't say anything, knowing that they would have a way to deal with it.

They had some time to kill before the meeting; so they all went over the evidence one more time before moving into MTAC.

The meeting was boring so Jess and Jethro left Vance and Jenny to get everything settled. They both waited until they were in Jen's office before Jethro told her what happened the night before. Jess smirk was _very_ smug. Jenny txted Jethro, telling him to get into MTAC; it was time. Jethro left and headed back into MTAC.

Jenny told them that she had Vance tracking him down; they were going to arrest him for some of his more recent crimes and use the old ones that had their statutes of limitations pass as supporting evidence. If he got off on these charges he would still have to deal with the families of the agents who died because of his meddling. NCIS would disown him; removing his retirement plan and benefits as well as his pension. He would also be discredited and if he tried to work anywhere that would show up on his records. Jenny then told him that his team, would be the ones arresting him and she didn't care where he was when this happened. Jethro's smirk was malicious and feral.

He sent Jess and his team out to arrest him and take him straight to booking, Jess was also told to tell the team why they were arresting him.


	5. Chapter 5

Corruption 5

SecNav noticed how Jenny acted around Jethro and guessed at what the second thing was. And he guessed correctly. He told them to keep it on the down low; he didn't care if the agency knew but they weren't to flaunt it, and Gibbs' team was not to be shown favoritism because of the relationship. What he told them wasn't news to either Jenny or Gibbs, they had talked about it, somewhat, already. They both agreed and SecNav signed off. The partners embraced and kissed. The MTAC techs, stared with wide eyes before turning around and going back to work; they knew that if either of the two kissing caught them, they were dead meat. When Jenny and Jethro parted they left MTAC and waited on the catwalk for the team to return. They waited until all three members of the team sat down and Jess looked up at them and smirked.

Jethro checked his watch; it was 1230 hours. His team had an hour and a half to complete their paperwork and eat lunch.

"Should we do it now, or wait until its closer to workout time?" Jenny asked, keeping a slight distance from him.

"Wait a while. Let's order for lunch and eat in your office." He suggested.

"The lunch will be here by 1300 at least, I think most of your team will be at lunch; unless you want to show them during PT today?" She laughed and told him.

"Then let's do it now." He told her.

Jenny didn't say anything, but her mischievous smile said it for her. They crept to her office and went inside. They started yelling at each other, hardly able to keep the smile off their faces. However they managed to mask it as Jethro stormed out of the office and slammed the door. Jenny opened and slammed it herself as she stormed after him. They made it to the stairs and to the landing when Jenny reached out and made Jethro face her.

"What's wrong with you? You are acting like a teenager going through hormonal shifts." She yelled at him.

"What's wrong with me? I have to watch or know that someone else has their hands all over you. And it's not like lost you; I never had the chance; you ran, you took it away, not me." He hollered back, remembering the last time he was on her security detail and how jealous he felt watching as the other guests hands started to wander.

"Why do you care?" She spat at him. And if he didn't know better he would have thought that her anger was real and not fake.

"I care; I care because I missed you." He hesitated for only a minute before continuing. "I care because I love you." The words were spoken so quietly that no one but her heard clearly; except Jess who read his lips. Jenny's eyes widened and a little blood drained from her face. She brought a shaking hand to her face and covered her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I love you too Jethro." She said as he leaned forward and kissed her thoroughly. The kiss seemed to last forever and they were unaware of the world around them.

The rest of the team, and by now the rest of the bullpen, stared with an open mouth as the kiss went on and on. The team started clapping, causing the rest of the headquarters to follow suit. Ziva, regained her senses and called both Ducky and Abby up to the bullpen; they both followed the orders quickly and caught the tail end of the kiss.

Abby squealed with delight and bull rushed the two of them. Jenny laughed and Jethro smiled. When Abby let the two of them go, Jethro turned towards the team.

"1400 hours in the gym." Before leading Jenny to the elevators and leaving NCIS.

Jethro took Jenny to lunch and they enjoyed the time they spent together. They returned to NCIS with 30 minutes to spare before they would complete there PT. They changed into their gym clothes and headed down there.

When they arrived they found that Ziva was already there and stretching.

"Ziva, you work with Jen. Jess do you want Dinozzo or McGee?" Jethro spoke. Jenny shook her head and laughed, kissing his cheek before stretching herself.

"Depends; do you want me to help or thrash?" Jess answered. Ziva smirked.

"Help." Jethro answered after a few minutes thinking.

"Then I'll take McGee." Jess replied, evenly. Jethro nodded and Jess moved on from stretching to doing a Kata from one of her Japanese styles of martial arts. When the rest of the team joined them, they split up into the pairs that had been determined before the boys joined. Ziva and Jenny lightly sparred, each on an even keel with the other as they were going slow. Jethro was beating Tony slowly, by making him back up to the corner. Jess was also going slow with Tim, but she kept throwing suggestions out for him to take and showing him how to do a move correctly before continuing with the match. When Jethro called out a water break 30 minutes later the boys and Jenny were sweaty and out of breath, while the other three were only slightly winded and just barely had a sheen of sweat.

They switched partners, Jethro went to Ziva, and Jenny went to Tim, and Jess to Tony. They started again and Ziva and Jethro speed up their match and Jenny copied Jess and taught Tim as they fought. Jess decided to just thrash Tony. She had him pinned face down within three minutes, after using his momentum against him and throwing him over her shoulder. They sat and drank their water as they waited for the call to stop. When Jethro gave the call and looked up and saw Jess sitting on Tony's back where they sat back down to drink their water.

They switched partners once more, but Jess and Ziva didn't spare, they were going to have a full out battle to replace the one they tried to have when they worked together years previously, the rest of the group continued with the pattern; though Gibbs didn't teach Tim and Jenny just trashed Tony again. When the last matched stopped Jethro turned to the last two.

"Okay, full out as far as moves; but avoid giving the other a concussion or broken bones." He told the two of them and they both nodded before moving into the center of the ring. The rest of the group left the ring and watched from just outside the ropes. The two of them circled each other and made feints before Jess exploded into motion. Kicks and punches coming virtually simultaneously and Ziva found she was going on the defensive to protect herself, though she didn't give any ground up. Jess kept pounding her and countering any moves Ziva may have actually gotten off.

Jenny could see what Jess was doing; while Jess hands were throwing blow after blow at Ziva, the occasional kicks were feints and brought her feet closer together. After ten minutes she relaxed her blows and let Ziva get in a few, blocked, shots of her own. Until suddenly Ziva found herself on her back with Jess holding her in a full mount position her hands at her throat in a cross position, putting Jess' wrists alongside the windpipe. Ziva bucked and flipped them putting Jess on the bottom; which was what Jess wanted. Jess then brought her legs up and around Ziva and pulled her down as her arms pulled down as well, crushing Ziva's windpipe as she went.

Ziva managed to lessen the pressure in a bid to escape but found that she was trapped and tapped out. Jess released her immediately and let her go. Both Women stood up, panting, to applause from the group watching.

"What more did you learn in the past six years?" Ziva asked her former student.

"I completed the style I had studied when I was assigned to you and then I spent three years in Japan studying Judo and Ju-jitsu and achieved my black belt in each." Jess grinned and grabbed her water bottle.

"Alright, guys go home, but remember that we have Call this weekend, always be able to be contacted." Jethro barked at them before the younger agents including Jess split and headed to the locker rooms to change back into their regular clothes as Jenny and Jethro headed to her office. When they arrived they saw that Cynthia was waiting with news that McCallister had been booked and was in isolation until his arraignment on Monday; the good thing about arresting him on a Friday, no courts on weekends. Jenny told her to finish whatever she was doing and head home and to take the weekend off, barring any national emergencies. Cynthia smiled and finished her work.

Jenny pulled Jethro into the shower in her private bathroom. This was going to be the start of a very happy new life together.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This chapter jumps around quite a bit with time to get everything I want covered. I have a link for the dress posted on my profile; just look at the bottom of the info section before the story links are posted. Ending is kind of sad.

Corruption 6 - Epilogue

9 months later:

The team sat in the back rows of the courtroom as Jenny, Jethro, Jess and Vance sat right behind the prosecution and civil lawyers. After three days of deliberation the jury was ready to deliver a verdict. The NCIS agents/Director hoped for a guilty vote. The entire court room watched as the jury filed in and took their seats before rising for the Judge to enter.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Came the formal question from the judge. The head foreman stood up.

"We have your honor." HE replied and handed the bailiff a piece of paper. The bailiff handed the paper to the Judge who looked at it before handing it back.

"And how do you find?" He asked next.

"We the jury find the defendant; McCallister, guilty of all charges." The head foreman announced and the NCIS employees breathed a sigh of relief.

"The defendant will remain at his present location until sentencing." The judge declared before the courtroom stoop up as he left the courtroom to his chambers. The team watched as McCallister was led away. Everyone met outside the courtroom; Jethro and Jenny had their fingers intertwined and relief in their eyes. They sent everyone home, but remained at the courthouse. After they were sure that everyone was gone, they made their way down a floor and two right turns until they reached the office of a Justice of the Peace.

Before they entered the office Jen let go of Jethro's hand and unclasped a chain from around her neck. She pulled the yellow gold solitaire ring from the chain and put it around her finger; she'd hidden the ring so McCallister and Vance wouldn't see it. She put the ring back on her finger and kissed Jethro before leading him into the office.

Ten minutes and they left the office with a sheet of paper in her hands, a marriage license. They headed to the registrar and handed it over to have a copy made. They left the building and headed to Jethro's house before falling into bed with the other. They spent the weekend out of contact with everyone; Vance was Acting Director for the week.

Monday came and both Jenny and Jethro headed to the hospital for their yearly physical. They did everything they needed and were told that their results would be in by Wednesday or Thursday and that the hospital would call them when they were ready. The rest of the day was spent doing the last little bit of unpacking before Jenny was completely moved into his house. They went out to dinner that night before stumbling back to bed for a night spent like the weekend.

Tuesday morning was spent in an out of the way jeweler's shop looking for wedding rings. By midmorning they found a set that fit with their styles and with the engagement ring. They ordered the rings and headed home for a quick lunch before the girls picked up Jenny to shop for wedding dresses. No one knew that they were already married; and they were planning on keeping it that way for as long as possible. Jenny found two dresses that she liked and couldn't decide so the girls weighed in and still they couldn't pick one; so Jenny called the only man allowed to see her before she walked down the aisle: Ducky. The elderly gentleman came in and gave his opinion and she made her decision. That night was spent soaking in a bubble bath together before they retired for the night and just held each other. They fell asleep with smile on their faces.

Wednesday was spent trying out different cake flavors to pick out their wedding cake; they decided on a three tiered simple chocolate cake with the traditional white frosting and fondant. Jethro then trailed behind as she picked out the place settings and china for the reception. The meal had already been chosen: Steak au povie and a simple roasted chicken. They were about to order dinner when the hospital called telling them that their labs were ready and they could come in first thing tomorrow morning.

Thursday morning they headed to the hospital and their results. Jethro's stress levels were high but everything else was normal, though the tech did stress that he lower his bourbon and coffee intake. Jethro rolled his eyes, knowing that if a doctor told him the same thing, Jenny would make him follow it. The tech handed them the results telling him that a doctor would come in shortly to answer any questions that they may have. Jethro gave a cursory look at his before passing to Jenny. She rolled her eyes as she looked at his report and made plans to at least dilute the bourbon and coffee stores at the house. She looked at hers and found similar remarks and an elevated HCG levels; her eyes widened and she paled with shock.

Jethro was concerned and touched her cheek. She looked at him and wordlessly handed him the results. He noticed what she noticed and was also shocked, but it faded quickly leaving behind a myriad of emotions. He felt joy, sheer joy, and a sense of protectiveness that he hadn't felt in many years, than he felt fear; fear that she didn't want children.

Jenny was going through a similar thought process. They locked eyes and like normal they could read the other and they saw their own thoughts reflected in the other's eyes. They smiled and he picked her up, kissing her deeply as he spun her around.

Thursday afternoon was spent at the grocery store where they got food for the rest of the week, Jess made a pit stop to grab a pregnancy test, just to be sure. She had already made an appointment to meet with an OBGYN on Monday. They replaced their regular coffee with decaf. Jethro then brought up all the bourbon in his basement and he poured it and all the beer in his fridge down the drain. He had decided to get a new bottle and that he could wait until later to buy it. He would only get his regular coffee during the work day. They had also bought fresh food, making their own would be healthier for both them and the baby. They fell asleep with both of their hands on Jen's stomach.

Friday was spent looking for Bridesmaid dresses, Jenny didn't tell anyone about the baby, wanting to wait just a little bit. She wanted to keep this their little secret of a little bit. She came home carrying the bags with the dresses that they would store here until the wedding in three months.

Jenny spent Saturday morning at the library, checking out baby books and Jethro spent the morning at the Hardware store buying more wood to make the crib at least; if he had time he would also make the changing table and a rocking chair. He also bought a fresh can of white paint. When he made it home, Jenny was still gone; so Jethro headed up to the empty bedroom he used to know as Kelly's room. He moved all of the boxes he stored there downstairs in the living room and took out all the furniture in there to the basement. He then got the room ready to be painted by taping the windows in the room with painter's tape and removing the power outlet covers.

He spent the afternoon painting while Jenny read some of the baby and pregnancy books in their bed. He just did one layer of paint, to freshen up the room and prepare it for the next coat when they knew what they were having. He showered and joined Jenny in bed and they fell asleep cradling their unborn child.

Sunday was spent in bed, only leaving to use the bathroom or get food or drinks from the kitchen.

Three months later:

Jethro stood at the altar next to the priest, waiting for the ceremony to start. It did, finally, start with the string quartet playing some classical music. Mike Franks walked down the aisle with Ziva; the best man and maid of honor. Tony and Abby followed with Tim and Jess bringing up the rear. When the bridal party was in place the quartet started playing PacBell's Cannon in D and everyone stood as Jenny floated into the room on Ducky's arm. She was wearing a beautiful, white strapless gown with an A-line and natural waist. The dress was tight and you could see the beginnings of a baby bump; if you knew to look for it. Jenny had just passed her first trimester and both she and the baby were doing great; in fact they were planning on announcing their bundle of joy at the reception. Ducky was the only one outside of the expectant parents who knew, having to help Jenny with her morning sickness a few times when Jethro was out of town on a case. The ceremony was short and sweet and filled with laughter when the kiss stretched on forever, but the married couple just laughed and kissed once more. The team/family enjoyed the reception and Abby squealed so hard when they announced that they'd be real parents in just six or so months.

Six Months later:

Jenny was exhausted, but happy. She was lying in her hospital bed holding her son in her arms, while Jethro had his arms around both of them. Both parents had goofy grins on their faces as they looked at their sleeping baby boy.

"Welcome to the world Jasper Michael." Jenny whispered before kissing her husband.

3 years later.

Jethro was in the backyard chasing his son around as they waited for everyone to arrive for Jasper's third birthday party. Jenny stood in the kitchen watching them from the window, her baby girl in her arms. Catelyn Kelly Gibbs was nine months old and a perfect copy of her mother, with her father's blue eyes. Jasper was a copy of Jethro with Jenny's eyes and they were both the light of their parent's life.

To Jethro and Jenny retired from NCIS just after Jasper turned one. When they found out they were pregnant with Katie, they were both worried about her; after all: Jenny wasn't the youngest woman anymore. But the baby girl seemed to have the stubbornness of both her parents and was just fine when she was born in the middle of the night.

Jenny and Jethro doted on their kids and took new jobs to fit their new schedules. Jethro took a teacher's position at FLETC and Jenny went back to her original career plans: teaching; though she was staying home until Katie was in school herself. The both still loved each other and they were still very happy with each other.

15 years later:

The day had come; their oldest, their baby boy was 18 years old and off to college. He didn't know what he wanted to do so he was going to get a general education degree as he played baseball on the university's team. He had gotten several small scholarships to pay for books and room and board as well as a large sports scholarship to pay for tuition. Jenny and Jethro loaded up their son's car and their own with stuff for his apartment and they all drove over to his new place and helped him unpack before returning home to the townhouse.

Jenny kept the townhouse, not wanting to give it up and when Katie was two years old they moved into the house, as Jethro's house was rather cramped with four people living in it. Katie headed to her room and started to practice her cello, the low strains filling the house as Jenny moped and Jethro sulked. They missed their boy. Jasper called right before they went to bed and said he loved them all and he would see them the next three day weekend.

Their boy and girl were growing up and making their parents feel old.

40 years later:

Jethro and Jenny were in there room in the hospice, saying one last goodbye to their kids and grandkids and mourning not meeting their first great-grand kid. Jethro was sick with age and his joints were protesting the life he lead as his liver and kidneys failed from too much bourbon in his system. Jenny had inherited a degenerative bone disease as was ailing fast. After saying good bye to their family they talked about their life together, the good, the bad and the ugly. Jenny asked to be moved to her husband's bed and the nurse obliged.

They took their last breaths together, in the others arms with soft, happy smiles on their faces.


End file.
